SaveAs Writers' International Writing Competition 2023

All in the Mind

2023 celebrates the centenary of the publication of Freud’s The Ego and the Id. We hope that the theme of ‘all in the mind’ inspires you to write about the role of the unconscious in our daily experience and our culture. How do hidden forces motivate human beings in our spiritual, emotional, and mental lives? Are we essentially rational or irrational beings?

Statement from our sponsor The Canterbury Festival:

Reading and writing are, or should be, such an integral part of our lives and metal wellbeing, that we must all do our utmost to promote literature in all its forms.  To this end the Canterbury Festival is proud to sponsor the SaveAs Writers International Writing Competition Prize for Fiction.

Many congratulations to the winners of this and all the other prizes; we hope that your success continues and that it inspires many to become the writers of the future.

Statement from our sponsor Canterbury Christ Church University

Results:

Poetry

1st place: Peter Surkov - Buried Rivers

Winner of The Canterbury Christ Church University Poetry Prize

2nd place: Naoise Gale - Plate

3rd place: Elizabeth Wilson Davies - Existentialism on the Gravelly Hill Interchange

4th place Highly commended: Lizzy Lister - Christmas Day Crossing

Prose

1st place: Frances Knight - Scissor Happy

Winner of The Canterbury Festival Fiction Prize

2nd place: Donna Ferguson - The Lido

3rd place: Tabitha Bast - The Cigarette

Prizes:

Poetry:

The Canterbury Christ Church University Poetry Prize

First: £200

Second: £100

Third: £50

Shortlist

Elizabeth Wilson Davies – Existentialism On The Gravelly Hill Interchange
Peter Devonald – The Day Before You Forget It All Completely
Jinny Fisher - The Astrophysicist Transforms His Anxiety
Naoise Gale – Plate
Naoise Gale – These Days
Lizzy Lister – Christmas Day Crossing
Julia Stothard – The Interviewer Asks About Family Life
Peter Surkov – Buried Rivers

Longlist

Jeanette Burney – The Move
Tina Cole – Glimpse
Elizabeth Wilson Davies – Existentialism On The Gravelly Hill Interchange
Peter Devonald – The Day Before You Forget It All Completely
Roger Elkin – If Only Chocolate Could Sing
Mike Farren – Haunted
Jinny Fisher – The Astrophysicist Transforms His Anxiety
Naoise Gale – Plate
Naoise Gale – These Days
Gabriel Griffin – Tik Toc Tourette
Georgia Hilton – In Which My Body Becomes A Garden
Khalida Ishmail – Bibi
Christopher M James – Golem
Lizzy Lister – Christmas Day Crossing
Di Slaney – Reading Crime Fiction Helped Mend Her Head
Julia Stothard – The Interviewer Asks About Family Life
Peter Surkov – Buried Rivers

Judged by Mario Petrucci

Main report

Shortlist comments

Prose:

The Canterbury Festival Fiction Prize sponsored by Canterbury Festival

First: £200

Second: £100

Third: £50

Shortlist

Tabitha Bast - The Cigarette
Helen Chambers - The Great Escape
Donna Ferguson - The Lido
Frances Knight – Scissor Happy
Eugene O'toole - The Ministry Of Amnesia
Geralyn Pinto – Whalebone Collars
Sam Szanto - Alison In Wonderland
Matthew Thomas - My Brother, He’s Family

Longlist

Tabitha Bast - The Cigarette
Helen Chambers - The Great Escape
Donna Ferguson - The Lido
Frances Knight – Scissor Happy
Patricia Mullin - Hush
Eugene O'toole - The Ministry Of Amnesia
Geralyn Pinto – Whalebone Collars
Sam Szanto - Alison In Wonderland
Matthew Thomas - My Brother, He’s Family
Lianne Warr - Body Of Water

Judged by Truda Thurai

Main report

Poems: 60 lines max.

Short stories: 3500 words max.

Entry fees: £3 per poem £8 for three £4 per short story £10 for three

Deadline: September 30th 2023

Terms and conditions